There are many factors that contribute to the success of a wiki site or any other website. Each time you navigate a website you are unconsciously evaluating it to determine quality. Below is a simple checklist to use when assessing a quality wiki to use in your class...
Simple checklist for a successful wiki .....□ Is it attractive and visually interesting? .....□Is the text formatting and page setup user friendly? .....□Does it provide useful information and resources? Does it contain links to them? .....□Is the site credible and well cited? .....□Is it easy to navigate? Is it well organized?
When you are developing your own wiki for use in a classroom, or having the students create them, a rubric is an excellent tool for establishing expectations. Using the national standards for technology published by ISTE (www.iste.org), the following rubric outlines specific criteria essential to creating a quality wiki. Wiki Assessment Tool
Criteria
Mastery
Proficient
Developing
Creativity & Innovation*
Organization
A Table of contents is used to streamline and categorize information.
Clear headings and titles delineate the information topics.
The information lacks organization.
Presentation Quality
Graphics are well placed and add visual interest. They are relevant and support the written text.
Graphics add visual interest to the site.
The site lacks quality in the presentation due to a lack of graphics and other publishing components.
New technologies
Web 2.0 tools have been used to enhance the usability of the site. Technologies may include;
widgets,
sound and video,
RSS feeds,
file uploading.
Web 2.0 tools have been used. Technologies may include;
widgets,
sound and video,
RSS feeds,
file uploading.
Few or no Web 2.0 tools have been used. The technologies used have little or no function and do not enhance the site.
Communication & Collaboration*
Collaboration
Co-authoring is evident in the page history with 3 or more individuals providing content. User authoring is promoted with ease in access to editing features, discussions posts and the ability to upload content.
Co-authoring is evident in the page history. Users can provide feedback through discussion posts.
The wiki provides very little evidence of collaboration and/or user input.
Spelling & Grammar
Language used communicates clearly and precisely. The entire site is void of grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.
Language used communicates information provided on the site. There are few grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.
There are instances of poor language use, which creates confusion. There are many grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors.
Research & Information Fluency*
Content
Issues are relevant and always relate to theme/topic. Information is up-to-date and provides the reader with current news and pertinent issues. Hyperlinks and other hypermedia aid understanding and add interest to the topic.
Information and research is well thought out and relate to the theme/topic of the site. Some hyperlinks and other hypermedia is provided to support the content.
The information is somewhat relevant to the theme/topic. The information provided is out dated and does not address current news and issues.
Originality
Information is original and provides new ideas and insights.
Information is summarized.
Information is copied.
Digital Citizenship & Responsibility*
Validity & Citation of Work
Cited resources are correctly listed on the wiki page. A bookmarking tool (ex. del.icio.us) and tagging have been used effectively.
Resources are correctly cited but not organized.
Cited resources are not listed on the page. Readers have no access to referenced materials.
What makes a wiki successful?
There are many factors that contribute to the success of a wiki site or any other website. Each time you navigate a website you are unconsciously evaluating it to determine quality. Below is a simple checklist to use when assessing a quality wiki to use in your class........□ Is it attractive and visually interesting?
.....□ Is the text formatting and page setup user friendly?
.....□ Does it provide useful information and resources? Does it contain links to them?
.....□ Is the site credible and well cited?
.....□ Is it easy to navigate? Is it well organized?
When you are developing your own wiki for use in a classroom, or having the students create them, a rubric is an excellent tool for establishing expectations. Using the national standards for technology published by ISTE (www.iste.org), the following rubric outlines specific criteria essential to creating a quality wiki.
Wiki Assessment Tool
Technologies may include;
Technologies may include;
The technologies used have little or no function and do not enhance the site.
User authoring is promoted with ease in access to editing features, discussions posts and the ability to upload content.
Users can provide feedback through discussion posts.
The entire site is void of grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.
There are few grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.
There are many grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors.
Information is up-to-date and provides the reader with current news and pertinent issues.
Hyperlinks and other hypermedia aid understanding and add interest to the topic.
Some hyperlinks and other hypermedia is provided to support the content.
The information provided is out dated and does not address current news and issues.
A bookmarking tool (ex. del.icio.us) and tagging have been used effectively.
Readers have no access to referenced materials.
© 2007, ISTE® (International Society for Technology in Education), www.iste.org. All rights reserved.
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